Jesus said “love your neighbour as yourself.” God expects me to do good and look after my neighbour, not harm them. To be kind, compassionate, thoughtful, patient, forgiving and so on.

One of the dangers I have found in Christian ministry is the tendancy to treat myself in ways I would not treat others. I stretch myself too far by working long hours, well above my personal capacity. When I work too hard I am not loving myself. I cause emotional wear and tear, exhausting myself by not being kind to my body, soul and mind. I sometimes expect too much of myself, more than I would expect of my neighbour.

I need to remember the balance of self sacrifice and self preservation, so I’ve re-read my blog post on the relationship between mortification of sin, crucifixion of self and time for prayer, the road to ministry burnout.